Watch Reba McEntire Take Playful Shots at Blake Shelton

Reba McEntire returns to The Voice for the Knockouts Round as a Mega Mentor this season, and before her episode airs, the country legend stopped by NBC's Today to tell Voice host Carson Daly all about her time on the show and the advice she gave to the contestants.

"They've got the technique down. My point, basically, was, 'Really sell the song to the audience with your eyes. Make eye contact,'" McEntire relates. "And it was a lot of fun. And they're like sponges. They're really wanting some help, some instruction. But some of them, oh my gosh, they could teach me a lot."

It was a homecoming of sorts for McEntire, who's got long personal history with two of the coaches — Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson — and who also appeared as a mentor on the show back in its first season, when she was a Battles Advisor to Team Blake. Not only that, but McEntire's been in the mix with the show since its very beginnings: She was NBC's first choice as a country coach, before they settled on Shelton for that role.

"We got some other guy named Blake Shelton, who nobody knew at the time," Daly joked, and McEntire was more than ready to get in a playful dig at her fellow country star.

"Who? What's his name?" she deadpanned.

Later on in the interview, Daly once again took an opportunity to crack a joke at Shelton's expense.

"Well, it's Blake's last season, so that big red chair is gonna be empty. Just keep that mind," he said, hinting that McEntire could get another opportunity to step in as a full-time Voice coach after Shelton's departure.

"Okay!" she replied.

"It'd be nice to have some real country royalty sit in that chair for once," Daly continued, as McEntire tittered in amusement back.

While McEntire was all in on cracking jokes at her fellow Oklahoman, she stopped short of outright denying any intentions to replace Shelton as a coach on Season 24.

It's actually the second time that McEntire has side-stepped a question about whether she might become a coach on The Voice after Shelton leaves. Back in February, McEntire fielded that question in an interview.

"Who could fill Blake's shoes? To fill Blake's chair? Wow. That's gonna be tough," she replied at the time. "He did a great job, and kudos to him."

So, while McEntire's not stating any intention to become a Voice coach — she's not even hinting at it — she's not shutting down the idea, either. Who knows? When Season 24 arrives, Voice fans might just see McEntire as a permanent fixture for the season.

During her appearance on Today, McEntire also announced her upcoming new lifestyle book, Not That Fancy, and discussed her recent tour.

Reba McEntire Pictures Through the Years: